Resources
Reading bids better
Plain-language guides on the part of estimating that costs the most when it slips — the scope gaps, the exclusions, and the things a bid package never says out loud. Written for the operator pricing the work.
What the documents don't say — bid scope gaps
The silences in a bid package cost you the job: the unstated bond, the missing wage determination, the scope referenced but not included. Find them first.
Read →How to find scope gaps in a bid package
Where scope gaps hide in a bid — exclusions, addenda, unattached specs, division boundaries — and a checklist for catching them before you price.
Read →What a subcontractor exclusion means in a bid
An exclusion in a sub's quote shifts scope back to you. What exclusions are, the common ones to watch, and how to catch the margin leak before you price.
Read →How to read a bid package — an estimator's guide
The anatomy of a bid package — instructions, conditions, specs by division, drawings, addenda — a reading order, and where gaps and silences live.
Read →Go deeper
Scope gaps in landscape & site-work bids
Scope gaps and unstated obligations in landscape and site-work bids — retaining walls, prevailing wage, restoration exclusions, establishment periods.
Read →Single-bid review vs. bid leveling
The category line BidScan lives on: reading your one package before you price, versus leveling many sub bids after.
Read →Read your next bid with BidScan
BidScan reads your package and cites every finding — the gaps, the obligations, and the silences. Your first scan is free, and there is nothing monthly to start.